RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 250, 99-12-30

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 250, 30 December 1999

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT POSTPONES BUDGET DEBATE

[02] RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS SENTENCED FOR ARMENIAN SHOOTING

[03] AZERBAIJAN PROTESTS ARMENIAN SEISMIC MONITORING STATIONS

[04] GEORGIAN OFFICIAL DENIES CHECHEN FIGHTERS IN GEORGIAN

[05] TWELVE INDICTED FOR PLOTTING GEORGIAN COUP

[06] PARTICIPANTS IN COMMEMORATION OF KAZAKH DEMONSTRATION FINED

[07] KYRGYZSTAN'S ECONOMY STABILIZES

[08] FORMER KYRGYZ PREMIER DENIES ROLE IN BUSINESSMAN'S MURDER

[09] TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TAJIK COUP ATTEMPT

[10] TAJIK OPPOSITION LEADER IN IRAN

[11] 'AND HE SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER...'

[12] TURKMENISTAN TO SWITCH TO LATIN ALPHABET

[13] UZBEK ELECTION RESULTS PUBLISHED

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[14] MILOSEVIC RESHUFFLES MILITARY COMMAND

[15] OPPOSITION GROUPS TO DISCUSS COMMON STRATEGY

[16] YUGOSLAV LAWYERS PROTEST DISMISSAL OF JUDGES

[17] RUSSIA WON'T SELL ADVANCED WEAPONS TO BELGRADE

[18] CHINA MAY VETO EXTENSION OF KFOR BEYOND JUNE 2000

[19] EU PLANS TO SEND MORE FUEL TO YUGOSLAVIA

[20] MONTENEGRIN AIDE SAYS 'FEDERAL STATE DOES NOT EXIST'

[21] BELGRADE EXPLOITING MAFIA CHARGES IN MONTENEGRO

[22] DETAILS OF MONTENEGRIN HARD CURRENCY OFFER

[23] UN CHIEF SAYS KOSOVA VIOLENCE UNACCEPTABLE

[24] ARRESTS AND RELEASES IN KOSOVA

[25] SFOR GOES ON HEIGHTENED ALERT IN BOSNIA

[26] OSCE TO REMOVE 15 MUSLIM CANDIDATES FROM BOSNIAN ELECTORAL

[27] BOSNIAN SERBS PLEAD NOT GUILTY AT HAGUE TRIBUNAL

[28] CROATIAN OPPOSITION FORMS OWN ELECTION COMMISSION

[29] MACEDONIA SEIZED SERBIA-BOUND EXPLOSIVES

[30] ALBANIANS CHOOSE ENVER HOXHA 'MAN OF CENTURY'

[31] ALBANIA CRITICIZES BELGRADE, SEEKS CLOSE TIES WITH PODGORICA

[32] ROMANIA INTRODUCES NEW TAX SYSTEM...

[33] ...AND TAXES PENSIONS

[34] ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER RETURNS FROM MOSCOW

[35] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES CIS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

[C] END NOTE

[36] NEW ORTHODOXY?

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT POSTPONES BUDGET DEBATE

chairman of the Armenian parliamentary Committee on Finance

and Economics, Manvel Badeyan, told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau

on 28 December that the final draft of the 2000 budget will

be submitted to the legislature in late January. The draft

was originally submitted to deputies in early November but

then withdrawn for amendments. Badeyan said the reason for

the delay is that the Armenian government is keen to have a

"realistic" budget but doesn't yet know how much the country

will receive from international financial organizations. In

particular, agreement has not yet been reached with the World

Bank on the size of a Structural Adjustment Credit that is

earmarked to cover much of the anticipated budget deficit. LF

[02] RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS SENTENCED FOR ARMENIAN SHOOTING

Russian border guards were sentenced to jail terms of 14 and

15 years for indiscriminately opening fire on civilians in

the north Armenian town of Gyumri in April, AP reported (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 15 April 1999). Two people were killed and

a further nine wounded in the shooting. LF

[03] AZERBAIJAN PROTESTS ARMENIAN SEISMIC MONITORING STATIONS

statement condemned as a violation of Azerbaijan's

territorial integrity Armenian plans to open a network of 150

seismic monitoring stations in Armenia and the unrecognized

Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, ANS TV

reported. LF

[04] GEORGIAN OFFICIAL DENIES CHECHEN FIGHTERS IN GEORGIAN

Georgian Deputy Security Minister Levan Kenchadze

on 29 December rejected as untrue claims by former Defense

Minister Tengiz Kitovani that up to 1,500 Chechen fighters

are using the Pankisi gorge in northern Georgia as a base,

Caucasus Press reported. Earlier the same day, Kitovani said

in Tbilisi that the Chechens are being allowed to move freely

on Georgian territory and are planning to attack Russian

troops based in Georgia. On 28 December, police in Tbilisi

apprehended four people attempting to smuggle a large

quantity of heroin from Pankisi. Georgian police believe the

drug was processed in an underground facility in Chechnya

controlled by Chechen field commanders. LF

[05] TWELVE INDICTED FOR PLOTTING GEORGIAN COUP

including a former senior Defense Ministry official, have

been charged with conspiring to assassinate Georgian

President Eduard Shevardnadze in May of this year, Interfax

and Caucasus Press reported on 28 December (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 24 and 26 May 1999). Seven people, including

former Defense Ministry official Gudjar Kurashvili, have been

arrested in connection with the planned coup, while a further

five are still at large. The latter include former

parliamentary deputy Boris Kakubava and Igor Giorgadze, ex-

head of the Georgian Security Service, who is wanted for his

alleged involvement in the August 1995 attempt to kill

Shevardnadze. LF

[06] PARTICIPANTS IN COMMEMORATION OF KAZAKH DEMONSTRATION FINED

an unspecified number of others have been fined for

participating in a gathering to commemorate those killed

during the Almaty protest of 19 December 1986 against the

appointment of an ethnic Russian as first secretary of the

Communist Party of Kazakhstan, RFE/RL correspondents in

Almaty reported. Qozhakhmet, who was imprisoned for his role

in the 1986 protest, said the official explanation for the

fines was that the gathering had not been sanctioned by the

authorities. LF

[07] KYRGYZSTAN'S ECONOMY STABILIZES

Muraliev on 28 December said in Bishkek that his cabinet

managed to increase tax revenues in 1999, improved the

situation in the agricultural sector, and held inflation at

39 percent, Interfax reported. (The target for inflation was

15 percent). In addition, the country's trade deficit has

been reduced from $229 million in 1998 to $80 million. The

government has paid off its entire pension arrears and

reduced wage arrears to public sector employees, according to

RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau. LF

[08] FORMER KYRGYZ PREMIER DENIES ROLE IN BUSINESSMAN'S MURDER

a letter published on 28 December in the government newspaper

"Slovo Kyrgyzstana," Apas Djumagulov denies any connection

with the March 1997 murder in Bishkek of his distant

relative, businessman Yusup Kolbaev, RFE/RL's bureau in the

Kyrgyz capital reported. Djumagulov, who is currently

Kyrgyzstan's ambassador to Germany, said he will launch legal

proceedings against those media outlets that implicated him

in the killing. He is also suspected of involvement in a

major corruption scandal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 December

1999). LF

[09] TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TAJIK COUP ATTEMPT

northern Tajik city of Khujand on 28 December imposed death

sentences on two participants in the failed November 1998

coup headed by former Tajik Army Colonel Mahmud

Khudaiberdiev, Reuters and ITAR-TASS reported. A further 35

Khudaiberdiev supporters received prison sentences ranging

from 9 to 21 years. LF

[10] TAJIK OPPOSITION LEADER IN IRAN

visit to Tehran, United Tajik Opposition leader Said Abdullo

Nuri met with President Mohammad Hatami and Foreign Minister

Kamal Kharrazi, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 29 December. The

talks centered on political developments in Tajikistan,

including preparations for the upcoming parliamentary

elections, bilateral economic ties, and the overall political

situation in Central Asia. All agreed that the conflict in

Afghanistan should be resolved by peaceful means and through

the participation of all Afghan political forces. LF

[11] 'AND HE SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER...'

parliament approved an amendment to the country's

constitution on 28 December allowing incumbent President

Saparmurat Niyazov to remain president for an unlimited

period, Reuters reported. The previous day, Niyazov had

rejected the proposed amendment, hinting that he might not

run for a further term in the presidential poll due in 2002

(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 December 1999). On 29 December,

the U.S. State Department expressed regret at Turkmenistan's

unwillingness to observe democratic norms, according to AP.

Reuters quoted an unnamed Western diplomat as conceding that

Niyazov can guarantee political stability but also noting

that his continuation in office indefinitely will postpone

both democratic and economic reforms in the country. Niyazov

told law-makers on 29 December that no alternatives to the

ruling Democratic Party will be allowed to exist during the

next decade, according to Interfax. LF

[12] TURKMENISTAN TO SWITCH TO LATIN ALPHABET

parliament deputies on 29 December that the country will

replace the Cyrillic alphabet with the Latin one as of 1

January 2000, Interfax reported. Niyazov also called for

broader ties between Turkmenistan and Russia, and assured

Turkmenistan's ethnic Russian minority that they will not be

subjected to harassment on ethnic or religious grounds. LF

[13] UZBEK ELECTION RESULTS PUBLISHED

of voting on 26 December, 249 of the total 250 seats in the

new Uzbek parliament have been filled, Asia Plus-Blitz

reported on 27 December. The People's Democratic Party has 48

seats, the national democratic party Fidorkorlar 24, Vatan

Tarakkiyoti 20, the Adolat social-democratic party 11, and

the democratic party Milli Tiklanish 10. A further 110

deputies represent governing structures, and 16 others

represent initiative groups. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[14] MILOSEVIC RESHUFFLES MILITARY COMMAND

to shore up his personal power, Yugoslav President Slobodan

Milosevic on 28 December made significant changes in the

military's high command, Reuters reported. Among those

promoted was General Vladimir Lazarevic, who commanded the

Pristina Corps until its withdrawal in June and who has

recently said that Yugoslav forces will return to Kosovo. He

will now be deputy head of Yugoslavia's Third Army. General

Milorad Obradovic, commander of the Second Army, also was

increased in rank. His area of responsibilities includes

Montenegro. PG

[15] OPPOSITION GROUPS TO DISCUSS COMMON STRATEGY

for Change, the Serbian Renewal Movement, and two smaller

opposition groups on 28 December agreed to meet on 10 January

to discuss a common strategy against what they called their

"common adversary" -- Yugoslav President Milosevic, AP

reported. Some 10,000 opposition supporters gathered in

Belgrade on 28 December for a rock concert to mark the new

year three days early. PG

[16] YUGOSLAV LAWYERS PROTEST DISMISSAL OF JUDGES

Chamber of Lawyers on 29 December said that a 21 December

decision by the parliament to fire three judges had

undermined the independence and impartiality of the country's

judiciary, Reuters reported. "Those decisions are

unconstitutional and unlawful," the statement continued. The

dismissed judges are Slobodan Vucetic, a Serbian

Constitutional Court judge; Zoran Ivosevic, a Serbian Supreme

Court Judge; and Bozidar Prelevic, a judge in a Belgrade

municipal court. PG

[17] RUSSIA WON'T SELL ADVANCED WEAPONS TO BELGRADE

Defense Minister Predrag Bulatovic told the military weekly

"Vojska" on 29 December that Moscow plans to upgrade its

military cooperation with Belgrade but will not sell major

new weapons systems to Yugoslavia "because of the

internationally imposed arms embargo." In other comments,

Bulatovic said that NATO was continuing what he called its

"extended aggression against Yugoslavia" but said that

Belgrade "will battle on the diplomatic as well as on other

fields to persuade the international community that Kosovo is

a part of Yugoslavia and Serbia." PG

[18] CHINA MAY VETO EXTENSION OF KFOR BEYOND JUNE 2000

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said in Beijing on

28 December that China will decide "depending on what happens

in Kosovo" as to whether it will support an extension of the

KFOR mandate, Reuters reported. PG

[19] EU PLANS TO SEND MORE FUEL TO YUGOSLAVIA

the mayors of Nis and Pirot, the EU appears likely to

increase deliveries of fuel to provide heat to Yugoslav

civilians, Reuters reported on 28 December. The EU reportedly

will send 38 fuel trucks rather than the eight earlier

announced under the still controversial "Energy for

Democracy" project. Jan Willen Blankert, deputy head of the

European Commission delegation in Belgrade, said he hopes the

EU will broaden the program further in January. PG

[20] MONTENEGRIN AIDE SAYS 'FEDERAL STATE DOES NOT EXIST'

Vukovic, an advisor to Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic,

told Montenegrin television on 28 December that Montenegro

will not participate in Yugoslav elections in the year 2000

because "the federal state does not exist," AP reported.

"Only if we agree on future restructuring of a federal state

can we think about participating in federal institutions,

including elections." On 29 December, Yugoslav Prime Minister

Momir Bulatovic accused the U.S. of pushing Montenegro toward

declaring its independence from Yugoslavia, something

Washington has repeatedly denied. Bulatovic said that the

"anti-Yugoslav, noisy band" in Montenegro "has one single

conductor -- the U.S. administration, which is behind all the

moves with an apparent desire to destabilize Yugoslavia and

its legal leadership." PG

[21] BELGRADE EXPLOITING MAFIA CHARGES IN MONTENEGRO

officials told Reuters on 28 December that Belgrade is

exploiting Italian displeasure over the involvement of some

Montenegrins in the mafia to undermine Podgorica's reputation

in the West. The officials said all 27 deputies of the pro-

Milosevic party in the Montenegrin parliament had printed

copies of Italian charges against the republic's foreign

minister a week ago on the very day he resigned. PG

[22] DETAILS OF MONTENEGRIN HARD CURRENCY OFFER

Finance Minister Miroslav Ivanisevic on 29 December said

Podgorica will pay Yugoslav army officers residing in the

republic with hard currency if the army provides goods of

equal value to Montenegro, Reuters reported. At the same

time, Ivanisevic said that the Montenegrin government has

decided "to pay salaries to all employees in Montenegro in

German marks." Both steps are designed to protect Podgorica

from the inflation now ravaging the Yugoslav dinar, but it

remains uncertain whether the Yugoslav Army in Montenegro

will accept. PG

[23] UN CHIEF SAYS KOSOVA VIOLENCE UNACCEPTABLE

the UN Security Council, Secretary General Kofi Annan said

progress has been made in Kosova over the last six months but

that the amount of both general violence as well as violence

against ethnic minorities remains unacceptably high, Reuters

reported on 28 December. He called for strengthening the

judiciary and penal systems and urged a "strong response" to

counter problems involving "unofficial law-enforcement

actors." PG

[24] ARRESTS AND RELEASES IN KOSOVA

Sava Matic, an ethnic Serb who is charged with war crimes

during the recent conflict, Reuters reported. Matic was

arrested in Orahovac, where more than a dozen other ethnic

Serbs have been arrested in recent weeks. The local Serbian

Orthodox bishop condemned the arrest. Meanwhile, on the same

day, KFOR released four people who had been detained in

connection with a bomb attack on a Serbian cafe. PG

[25] SFOR GOES ON HEIGHTENED ALERT IN BOSNIA

28 December announced that its forces have been put on

heightened alert because of the possibility of terrorist

attacks, Reuters reported. The SFOR command took this step

after its soldiers found an unexploded bomb near an SFOR

camp. PG

[26] OSCE TO REMOVE 15 MUSLIM CANDIDATES FROM BOSNIAN ELECTORAL

The OSCE, which is in charge of organizing and

monitoring elections in Bosnia, announced on 28 December that

it has scratched 15 candidates of the ruling Muslim party

from the list of candidates because of registration

irregularities, AP reported. PG

[27] BOSNIAN SERBS PLEAD NOT GUILTY AT HAGUE TRIBUNAL

Serbs charged with war crimes, retired General Stanislav

Galic and paramilitary leader Zoran Vukovic, on 29 December

entered not guilty pleas at the international court in The

Hague, Reuters reported. PG

[28] CROATIAN OPPOSITION FORMS OWN ELECTION COMMISSION

that the ruling party of late President Franjo Tudjman might

"opt for manipulating election results," the leading

opposition coalition announced on 28 December that it has

formed its own electoral commission to monitor the upcoming

vote, Reuters reported, citing bloc spokesman Tihomir

Ladisic. PG

[29] MACEDONIA SEIZED SERBIA-BOUND EXPLOSIVES

police on 29 December seized 13 metric tons of explosives the

authorities said were bound for Serbia, Reuters reported. The

police also arrested eight Macedonians and seven Yugoslav

citizens, who have been charged with smuggling. PG

[30] ALBANIANS CHOOSE ENVER HOXHA 'MAN OF CENTURY'

letters sent into Tirana's independent daily "Koha Jone"

since September, Albanians believe that former dictator Enver

Hoxha was the most important figure in Albania in the 20th

century, DPA reported on 29 December. PG

[31] ALBANIA CRITICIZES BELGRADE, SEEKS CLOSE TIES WITH PODGORICA

public warning to Belgrade against any attempts to return its

forces to Kosova, dpa reported. At the same time, Milo

criticized Athens for failing to discuss the property rights

of ethnic Albanians in Greece. Meanwhile, Albanian Prime

Minister Ilir Meta told "Koha Jone" that he hopes for closer

ties with Montenegro. PG

[32] ROMANIA INTRODUCES NEW TAX SYSTEM...

on 29 December decided at an extraordinary meeting to slash

corporate taxes, increase VAT, and simplify the tax system.

Corporate taxes will be reduced from 38 to 25 percent in

order to stimulate the economy and ensure accurate tax

returns. In addition, companies that can prove investments

and exports will benefit from a 10 and 5 percent tax

reductions, respectively. Romania's VAT is to be reduced from

22 to 19 percent but will now apply across the board. At the

same time, VAT will be increased on some consumer goods from

11 to 19 percent. However, no VAT will be paid on energy

deliveries for home consumption until April 2000. As of 1

January, a global system of personal taxation on all earnings

regardless of their source is to be introduced, bringing

Romania into line with the system currently applied in the

EU, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported.

[33] ...AND TAXES PENSIONS

pensions that surpass the average national salary of 1.7

million lei ($94) are to be taxed, thus reducing the number

of pensioners who receive their retirement benefits tax free.

Labor and Social Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Simona

Marinescu on 28 December said pensions will be increased by

up to 60 percent in 2000. MS

[34] ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER RETURNS FROM MOSCOW

from a three-day visit to Moscow on 29 December, Defense

Minister Victor Babiuc said he and his Russian counterpart,

Igor Sergeev, discussed bilateral cooperation in the two

countries' defense industries and a proposal that Russia

repay its $90 million debt to Romania with military hardware

deliveries. They also discussed the envisaged withdrawal of

Russian troops from the Transdniester and Romania's

preparations for integration into NATO. Babiuc said he did

not "note opposition" from Sergeev to Romania's plans but

added that "Russia is still a great power and I am under the

impression that it is dissatisfied with the status that

Western countries are conferring on her." MS

[35] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES CIS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Executive-Secretary Yurii Yarov met with Moldovan President

Petru Lucinschi in Chisinau on 28 December to discuss ways to

improve cooperation among CIS member-states, RFE/RL's

Chisinau bureau reported. The meeting was part of the

preparations for the CIS summit scheduled in January 2000.

Lucinschi told Yarov that Moldova insists on the

implementation of existing CIS agreements, and particularly

on setting up a free trade zone that would eliminate trade

barriers and double taxation. He said he "welcomes" the CIS

Executive Committee decision to participate in the settlement

of conflicts and sources of tension in the former Soviet

Union. Lucinschi added that the committee's participation

alongside the OSCE and other organizations in mediating

Moldova's dispute with the Transdniester separatists would

make an important contribution to finding a solution to the

problem. MS

[C] END NOTE

[36] NEW ORTHODOXY?

A new post-Soviet orthodoxy emerged at a human rights

seminar in Georgia in late November: The monopoly position of

majority religious communities may take precedence over that

of individuals protesting that monopoly.

The seminar, organized by the Caucasus Institute for

Peace, Democracy, and Development, also provided highlights

of the human rights situation in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and

Georgia. Georgia's active NGO community (at least that based

in Tbilisi) has made the most strides in communicating its

concerns to the government. Azerbaijan's parliament in

December enacted a tough new law on the media. And in

Armenia, the government maintains tight control over official

information, resulting in a weak independent media that

engages in wishy-washy journalism.

Representatives from all three south Caucasus countries

agreed that their elections are now mere "balloting

charades." Georgian journalists, for example, told of the

mayor's successful challenger in Kutaisi being wounded by

mysterious assailants a few days before the elections and of

wholesale vote buying. Nevertheless, foreign election

monitors still spend a lot of time and treasure in what many

local observers consider often academic exercises to gauge

election fairness.

Participants laughed bitterly at their judiciary

"systems," with the Armenian representatives saying that

"justice" is measured only by bags of money. All participants

agreed that police brutality hits hard and that perpetrators

are rarely, if ever, brought to justice. As for conditions in

prison, the less said the better. While most speakers agreed

there are few, if any, prisoners of conscience, today people

are still imprisoned on political grounds--most flagrantly in

Azerbaijan, where some 900 are held in appalling conditions.

It should be added, however, that many political prisoners in

Georgia and Azerbaijan were also implicated in coup attempts.

As for the lamentable socio-economic situation in their

countries, seminar participants estimated that more than half

of their work force is unemployed. People are embittered at

displays of ill-gotten gains by local elites and

"businessmen" who stole state resources and now produce

nothing. Despite staunch official opposition, teachers in

Kutaisi have formed an independent trade union and gotten

seven months of back wages. Many men, trying to earn a living

wage, have left Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan to find work

in Russia. The money these workers send home often equals or

surpasses these countries' official state budgets, giving

Russia a potential major economic lever.

Freedoms of speech, press, and assembly differ

considerably among these three countries. Georgia is the most

liberal on freedom of the press, although the government

retains a potential repressive arsenal, particularly for

slander of the president. Major demonstrations, however, are

either not allowed in Georgia or are rapidly dispersed,

perhaps because such protests brought down the previous

government. Armenian journalists claimed there is no direct

official censorship but admitted to much "wishy-washy"

reporting. The new Azerbaijani media law empowers the

government to close media outlets without going to court.

Indeed, the Azerbaijani government recently closed the

independent Sara TV station on the obscure legal grounds that

it is owned by a foreigner.

With regard to religion, the range of views was wider.

Participants concurred that their governments disapprove of

foreign missionary activity, especially by Jehovah's

Witnesses, Krishnaites, Scientologists, and Adventists. Some

activists, particularly from Armenia, seemed to share their

government's view that such proselytizing goes against

"national traditions." Azerbaijanis noted a Lutheran pastor

had been expelled from their country this summer. And

Georgian activists detailed repressive actions against

Protestant groups, such as book burnings and a current court

case to revoke the registration of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

In all three countries, the issue of state registration

of religious groups loomed large. Azerbaijani activists told

how their country had moved away from the relative liberalism

of the early 1990s toward increasing barriers to religious

activity by restricting registration. These registration

restrictions are also being applied to some Islamic groups.

In addition, young women who wear head scarves for identity

card photos are now being denied passports, even though this

does not violate the law. Armenian participants described how

the Armenian Apostolic Church played the role of government

at various times in Armenian history, and now it is feared

that the Church manipulates this tradition to gain monopoly

power. In Georgia, only the Georgian Orthodox Church is

exempt from the registration requirement, while other

religious groups find it difficult to obtain.

Disagreement peaked about whether to defend the legal

rights of a young Moscow artist who protested what he

considers the cultural monopoly of the Russian Orthodox

Church by defacing icon prints. The artist faces three years

in prison for the "incitement of religious discord." One

young Russian Orthodox journalist from Azerbaijan said she

was deeply offended by the artist's actions and saw no reason

to defend his legal rights. Taking the opposite tack, a

Georgian journalist from the Liberty Institute said, although

he did not approve of the artist's actions, he would defend

his right to do so. One Armenian participant said the artist,

who happened to be an ethnic Armenian, had engaged in simple

hooliganism. During the heated discussion, many journalists

and human rights activists defended an emerging religious

orthodoxy as fervently as the Soviet government had enforced

atheism.

The author is deputy director of the RFE/RL Communications

Division.

30-12-99

Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org

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